It was built by Fulke Greville and is believed to contain several boxes, which could contain a number of documents including a copy of Anthony and Cleopatra.

Greville was a contemporary of Shakespeare and is considered by some experts in the field to be the brains behind some of the Bard's most famous works.

Reported to have spent £300,000 on the marble sarcophagus, historian AWL Saunders commented: "No man would build something like that and leave it empty.

"There is definitely something down there and we want to find out what it is."

It has been suggested that an endoscope will be used to look at the contents of the monument.

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Written by Martin Adams

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